Rotatably adjustable work support for sewing machines



Nov. 25, 1952 KELLER, JR 2,619,062

ROTATABLY ADJUSTABLE WORK SUPPORT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May 29, 3946 ,IIllll/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII14 INVENTOR JOJFFHFLLE'R, Jam

Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNIT ED STATES "gram OFFICE 2319362 ROTATABLY newsman; Wonk swat-aw FOR SEWING MACHINES manner, Jr., Rorschach, Switzerland Asmara-on a ,29, 1946'. saws... 672.181 In Switzerland June '7, 1945 6 Claims. (01. 112 260) "The present invention'relates to'sewihg nia- "chi'nes of the type equipped with a-freely carried "workihgsupport and has for its objectthe'pro- 'vision'of means rendering said working support rotatably adjustable and suitable todarn hoselike fabrics, such as hosiery, thereon ,'notwithstanding the fact that the same working support is ordinarily used for sewing purposes underthe action of a feed-dog.

"According to the invention a" tubular body is mounted on a shoulder or standard of the inachine frame and removably encloses the structure of the working support, said body having a flat longitudinal side or face provided with a stitching hole and opposite thereto a round or arcuate side likewise provided with a stitching hole to the effect that, according to the machine work" to be done, the flat or round side or face of the tubular body, respectively, may be turned up in working position.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention.

. Fig. 1 is a sectional view in elevation of the working support.

Figl 2 is a horizontal section taken along line 2+2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a vertical cross section taken along line 33 of Fig. 1' with the support shown in full lines and in one position (for darning) and in'do'tted lines in another position (for sewing).

Fig. 4 shows a detail.

Fig. 5 is a general elevational view of the sewing machine drawn to a reduced scale.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of a detail,

partly in section, to which. reference is had in the specification.

The base plate I of the sewing machine carries the standard of the machine frame 2 (Fig. 5)

which is only partially shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. I

This frame 2 has fixed thereto, as by welding,

a-support structure 3 for mounting and supporting different shafts, such as the driving shafts for the bobbin, the feed-dog, etc. The support structure 3 is provided with an annular groove 4' adjacent the machine frame 2 and carries in f'said groove a ring 5 which projects outwardly somewhat beyond the adjacent circular disc 3' of the support 3. r v r n the support structure and forwardly of the Y disc 3' there is arranged a further circular disc 3", on the periphery of which is fitted aring 6.

,Over the rings and 6 and, therefore, over the whole support structure 3 extends a tubular body of hollow working arm" 1- which" is "detachably 2 secured to the rings {rand 6*by meansof s'cr'ews 8 and 9; respectively. The ring'members' ii -"and G are'shaped to assume an upper'sem'i 'circular and a lower rectangular contoun'the latter of which corresponds in length'to' the diameterand in height to'the radius of the upper-ring portion as can be visualizedfro'mFig. 3 (ring member'5). The contour-of the tubular -body-1"'is'-analogous 10 to the contour of the rings, so thatsaid bodyis provided opposite to its"semi-cylindrica1-o1' round longitudinal portion with a flat'longitudinal portion. The free forward end of the'tu'bu- "lar body is'arcuate or hemi -spherically' rounded and comprises a portion 1" which isremovabldto provide access to the bobbincapsule (not shown in the drawing).

The tubular body I has in itsfia't' side orportion a stitchinghole forthesewingneedla'as 'well as a number of slit apertures 'lwforthe not illustrated feed-dog which isa'dapted to'pass therethrough, whereas in the opposite *semicylindrical side or face a stitchinghole'lbis provided. I

In' order to locate the tubular body 1* selectively in two opposite workingpositions, so that the fiat or the semi-cylindrical surface thereof, respectively, comes to lie uppermost,"ring 5 is provided at its inner ring surface with'twddiametrically arranged recesses or grooves "I0 (Fig. 3), Oneor the other of these grooves lmrespectively, may be engaged by the nose ll of a'lock ing lever l3 (Fig. 4) which is rotatably mounted on the pin [2 and adjustable in its inner'and outer end positions by means of a manipulating screw M (Fig. 3), whereby the'tubular'body I may be locked in one or the other working'position and may be released therefrom, respectively. Nose ll of lever l3 when not in engaged position is received in groove 10" of "disc 3""as indicated in Fig. 2. The inner side of'the ring 5 is provided with a further slot" l5 which registers with a bar l6, when the fiat'sideiof the tubular body I is in working position. This bar l6 has formed thereon a transverse recessl'l allowing to rotate the ring 5 therethrough-and is connected by an intermediate angle lever l8 with a rod I!) which is in connection with astitch adiusting lever (not shown in the drawing). When for the performance of ordinary'sewing work the flat side of the tubular body I is located in working position, the slot I5 will allow free movement of the bar IS in longitudinal direction in order to adjust the length of the stitch. Substantially opposite to the bar It with-respect *to the vertical plane throughthe "tube a'xis, there is arranged a latch bar 20 which, in the above cited working position of the tubular body I, may be reciprocated in endwise direction through a slot 2| formed on the inner side of the ring 5 (Fig. 3). This bar is articulated to a doublearmed lever 20a (in order to afford the horizontal displacement of bar 20, see Fig. 1) which is rigidly mounted on the pivot 22' of a rotary button 22 and which carries a pin 23 which is engaged in a key groove 24 of a driving block 24.

The block 24 is mounted and axially displaceable on an endwise reciprocabl'e shaft which is rotatable by means of the lever system 25' and 25" and which is connected with the not illustrated raising and lowering mechanism for the feed-dog. If block 24 by means of its coupling pin 24a, which may pass through the groove or bore of a coupling member 242) (fixed on shaft 25 by means of a set screw 24c) enters the groove or bore of lever 25', freely rotatable lever 25 will then be coupled to member 241).

Therefore, the connection or coupling of shaft 25 with lever system 25', 25" by means of rotary knob or button 22 and block 24 can only take place if the flat portion of body 6 is in working position (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3).

Rotation of knob 22 in the direction of the hand of a clock (about permits that bar 20 may be moved into slot 2| of ring 5 and simultaneously pin 24a of block 24 may be inserted (on account of the displacement of block 24 to the right) into the bore or groove of lever 25'. Therefore, the raising of the feed-dog by means of the rotary button 22 can only be performed, when the fiat side of the tubular body is in working position, so that the bar 2|] is allowed to penetrate into the slot 2| of the ring 5. When the flat side of the tubular body is in another position than the working position, such as the reversed position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for allowing darning work, the ring 5 prevents the bar 20 from being moved and, therefore, prevents the feed-dog from being raised. 7

In order to be able to rotate the tubular work ing arm or body I from the sewing position (shown in Fig. 3-in dotted lines) into the darning position (shown in full lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3) a stitch adjustment mechanism (not shown) is set to zero or neutral position and as a consequence thereof slot I5 of the ring 5 and the recess ll of the bar IE will be brought into registry with respect to ring 5 so that rotation of ring 5 together with tubular body I may be had. In view of the zero position of the stitch adjusting mechanism the feed-dog is prevented from effectuating any advance movement. Furtheremore, by turning knob 22 counterclockwise the latch bar 20 may be Withdrawn from the slot 2| of the ring 5 (Fig. 1) in order to permit rotation of the ring 5.

By turning the knob 22 the driving block 24 on rock shaft 25 is moved toward the left to the position shown in Fig. 2 and the coupling pin 24a is Withdrawn from the part 25 of the lever system 25', 25" connected with said shaft 25. This shaft 25 also connected with the feed dog becomes thus disconnected and the feed dog due to its own weight assumes its lowermost position in which the block 24 is in a horizontal position approximately as indicated in Fig. 6.

If now the tubular body l is moved to the darning position (as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 in full lines) it is impossible that the feed dog can cause any damage since it cannot be lifted out of the tubular body. The zero or neutral position of the stitch adjusting mechanism is fixed by the engagement of ring 5 in recess H of bar l6 as long as the tubular working arm I actually assumes the darning position.

The feed dog can be of any known construction; however, it is preferred to use a feed dog as disclosed in copending U. S. Pat. Appln Ser. No. 673,180 in which rock shaft corresponds to the present rock shaft 25 as seen in Figs. 2 and 6. Thus it becomes evident that the tubular body 7 cannot be turned from the ordinary sewing position into the darning position, before the stitch adjusting mechanism is reset to zero and the feed-dog is completely lowered. The feed-dog cannot be raised nor can the stitch adjusting device be moved out of its zero position, before the tubular body I will be turned back into the ordinary sewing position.

There is thus provided a freely held working support which is adapted to allow the darning of hosiery and the like by the fact that the free end of the support is rounded in such a manner that heels, points of the hose, and like portions may tightly be stretched on the round or convex surface of the tubular body for being darned, somewhat similar to the use of the so-called darning ball or mushroom when darning by hand.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

l. A sewing machine having a machine frame with a free borne working support, comprising a tubular body, means rotatably connecting said body to said machine frame so as to enclose said working support, said body including an integral flat longitudinal plate portion with a stitching hole and opposite thereto a rounded portion provided with a stitching hole to the effect that according to the desired machine work, successively the flat and the round portions of the tubular body, respectively, may be moved to lie uppermost for working position.

2. A sewing machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means includes a ring member engaging said tubular body, said ring member being rotatably mounted on said support, and locking means supported by said machine frame for engagement with said ring member to lock said body when moved to one of said working positions.

3. A sewing machine as set forth in claim 2, including means for detachably connecting said ring member with the tubular body.

4. In a sewing machine according to claim 3, equipped with a stitch adjusting device and a feed-dog mechanism for raising and lowering same; including locking means cooperable with said ring member and in operative connection said raising and lowering mechanism for the feed-dog and with the stitch adjusting, device, respectively, so as to free the same, when said tubular body is located in one of the respective working positions.

5. A sewing machine having a standard and a freely carried work support connected thereto; said work support comprising a tubular body provided with a substantially fiat portion and with an arcuate portion disposed at a location opposite said flat portion of said body, means connectel to said tubular body and rotatable with the latter on said support relative to said standard whereby said tubular body assumes two different positions, respectively, in which said fiat portion comes to lie uppermost with respect to said arcuate portion for sewing operation or said arcuate portion comes to lie uppermost with respect to said flat portion for darning operation, locking means cooperable with said rotatable means for retaining said portions of said tubular body in either of said working positions, and means for operating said locking means whereby said tubular body is released for facilitating rotation thereof or is fixed in either of said working positions, respectively.

6. A sewing machine according to claim 5, wherein said rotatable means and said tubular body are arranged for rotation about a common axis, and means removably connecting said tubular body to said rotatable means.

JOSEF KELLER, Jn.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 1,387,143 Flanagan Aug. 9, 1921 2.247.383 Hohmann et a1 July 1. 1941 

